Woman fighting allergies lauded for online success

Mercia Tapping recalls seeing 19 doctors before pinpointing the cause of the colossal headaches that would rouse her each morning.

She discovered that she was essentially allergic to her surroundings -- from dust mites, feathers, and most trees to mold, cats, cockroaches, and chemicals.

Knowing she didn't want to be on medications for the rest of her life and unwilling to part with her beloved Siamese cats, she began to research other methods of relief, turning to air purifiers, hypoallergenic bedding, and special vacuum cleaners.

Eventually Tapping found a combination that worked, and she has since been able to control her allergies with hardly any medicine. Today, her experience has become the basis for a multimillion-dollar business, AllergyBuyersClub.com, which sells an array of products meant to ease environmental allergies.

The success of the Newton-based company has earned Tapping a nomination for a 2004 Stevie Award -- a national prize honoring women in business -- in the ''best entrepreneur" category. The award winners will be announced tomorrow.

A native of the United Kingdom who came to the United States 30 years ago, Tapping launched her business in 1999 as a resource for people who were navigating a similar trial-and-error approach to allergy relief. The company offers extensive reviews of the products it sells on its website.

''What I was trying to do from the start . . . was provide information and education for people," said Tapping, who writes an electronic newsletter she distributes to 100,000 people.

It is guidance that customers seem to appreciate: This year, AllergyBuyersClub.com, which boasts 50,000 customers, will sell more than $10 million worth of merchandise, Tapping said. With about 22 employees, the company is preparing to move to a larger office in Waltham -- a move necessitated in part by the company's growth but also by the difficulty it has had in controlling the air quality in its current offices.

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, one in five Americans suffers from allergies or asthma. Allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic disease in the United States.

Not all of AllergyBuyersClub.com's customers are allergy sufferers. Some are looking for help cleaning up mildewy basements or are simply interested in healthier environments. The company saw a spike in business after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Tapping said, when many New Yorkers were looking for air cleaners.

A cat lover, Tapping speaks with many customers who suffer from pet allergies. She advises them that it may take a combination of strategies to get their symptoms under control.

''They're always looking for the silver bullet," said Tapping, who lives in Newton with her husband.

The company also receives the occasional off-the-wall question -- one caller asked whether it was OK to smoke mold. But Tapping has also sold products to institutions such as schools, museums, and hospitals.

Aidan Long, clinical director of allergies at Massachusetts General Hospital, said a ''hygiene hypothesis" may explain the increase in environmental allergies -- that is, as living environments have become cleaner, everyday exposure to viruses and bacteria is reduced, making people more sensitive.

But Long cautioned against putting too much faith in products intended to control indoor allergens, arguing that many, such as some air filters, have not proven to be helpful. After looking at Tapping's website, he said he was concerned that the company was misleading people with allergies by recommending steps and products that might be unnecessary. He encouraged allergy sufferers to seek advice from a doctor first.

''Without a patient knowing what they're allergic to, they could be wasting a lot of money," Long said.

The Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs were launched as a way to honor the growing number of women in business, said president Michael Gallagher. The awards are sponsored by Advanta Corp., a financial services company for small businesses.

''It's been easier for women to start their own businesses," Gallagher said.

But it still took several nerve-racking months before Tapping knew she would make it. She tried in vain to secure venture capital for AllergyBuyersClub.com, but, she said, potential investors questioned her plan of selling and reviewing the same products.

So she focused on ensuring that her home-grown website was easily accessible on the Internet. Finally, a loan from her ex-husband helped her through what she calls the ''tunnel of darkness." The company has grown ever since.

The business itself is one of a handful in Boston's western suburbs nominated in the category of best overall company of the year, including Communispace Corp., a Watertown-based provider of web-based software and services.

Loren Carlson, chairman of CEO Roundtable, a monthly meeting for local CEOs that Tapping participates in, believes the success of AllergyBuyersClub.com is due to both Tapping's personal interest in allergy relief and her ability to use the Internet to build a community.

''That's what distinguishes it from those dot-coms that didn't make it," Carlson said. ''We all take pride in her success."

Tapping, 58, is modest about her company's accomplishments, but she said the Stevie Award nomination has shown that her instincts were correct: that customers would appreciate a website that sold products and shared personal knowledge of their strengths and shortcomings.

''Despite all those doubting Thomases, the business model did work," she said.

This season, the company will put out its first-ever mail-order catalog.

Tapping was raised by a father who worked in marketing and as a consultant, but she has no formal training in business. The key to being a successful entrepreneur, she said, is simply identifying the gap that needs to be filled.

''I learned this at the dinner table as a kid," she said. ''You don't have to have an MBA to be good at sales."

Emily Shartin can be reached at eshartin@globe.com.